Missouri is an example of a map where elements from the landscape have been added, in this case the Ozark hills which were a completely unexpected obstacle during my trip. In addition to the educational qualities of the map, my own experiences feature too. I added an image of my bike and the route number of the rollercoaster-like route 42 road that I cycled the entire length of. 

Detail showing my bike, a map of the Ozark Hills and a personal anecdote about Route 42.

This map explores as much of the early indigenous history of the region and situates landmarks in their rough locations. The challenge is building the maze to make a historical narrative that makes sense, for example the path detailing ancient history takes an abrupt turn East below the Kansas State Memorial (because that was built in the 1930s and would not be relevant to this ancient history).

North Eastern section showing the Mark Twain house, the first part of the map that I completed.

Because I wish this map to be an educational tool that does not delve too much into niche histories, I tried to find elements of popular culture related to Missouri, for example Mark Twain and Walt Disney’s connection so that the map can resonate to a wider audience.

South-Western section of the map.

Certain parts of Missouri were very difficult to find information about, so I decided to add some geographical features, for example the Millers cave near Branson in the South-Western part of the state to fill what would otherwise be gaps.